Kind of stressed

Post Reply New Topic

I posted some topics on my grammar issues but still feel bad because of them. The Literature teacher said the following: I know you are resisting, but you are going to have to learn standard grammar and mechanics. They matter and allow readers to follow your ideas. Get a good grammar handbook. Try The Elements of Style by Strunk and White.

I researched the book she mention, and it is only about $10 on Amazon, but I feel with 3 textbooks and Moby Dick to read I don't have time for yet another book. Plus while I like the help on my research paper when I look at things overall I feel bad. I have dreams of the future perhaps a PhD doing Psychology research and yet I have trouble with the most basic of grammar. Hell I'm sure what I've written here is awful!! !! A few times tonight I just deleted posts and PM's since I feel so bad over this issue.

Typical crappy teacher... Go buy a book and learn dont bother me mentality. Grrr

Mechanics is really your weak area. That can only be improved by writing many essays with someone guiding you and correcting you not by reading a book.

Its like cooking... You can buy Emeril's book and read it but you wont cook like him :p

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White is a book you really should buy. If you buy it as a used paperback, it will be cheaper. Although there is no substitute for practice practice practice, that book is the single most useful I ever owned during college. It is an excellent reference on how papers should be written.

College professors who are not specifically teaching writing will not teach you how to read an essay. They teach course content only and expect you to already know how to write a good paper. They will simply mark you down. For the mechanics of essay writing/paper writing, you need to take a class specifically for that.

Also, buy Elements of Style. It is only 10$ (or less, if used) and professors are going to start marking you down if you don't follow its guidelines. This professor has told you to get it and she may start marking you down (if she isn't already) if she doesn't see evidence that you have bought the book and are following its guidelines. It is one of those books that all college students are supposed to own because no paper should be written without it.

Your teacher is right, Strunk and White is the book you need to read. It will make explicit all those unwritten rules of English composition that you need to understand. You can check it out of the library for free, but it's worth buying--you will use it for the rest of your college career, not just for this class.

Another thing that might help a bit...

Write everything in a word processor (schoolwork, online posts, pm's).

MS word will sniff out common errors and style problems (with the right settings). It might seem like a pain, but it will help you see/fix basic writing/style problems.

PS
Be sure to turn auto-correct off. You want the program to point out the errors, not fix them for you.